


Coming Together

by queeerqueeen



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Anxiety Attacks, Denial, First Time, Hogwarts AU, M/M, Major Character Injury, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-31
Updated: 2016-12-31
Packaged: 2018-09-13 13:12:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9125230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queeerqueeen/pseuds/queeerqueeen
Summary: Jack does his best to ignore his feelings for Hufflepuff seeker Eric Bittle, until during a match Eric is hit by a bludger and is almost severely injured. Jack manages to save Eric, will Jack still be able to deny how much he cares for the other wizard?





	

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is a gift for Minna for the OMGCPRP Christmas Fic Exchange 2016. This fic is not beta'd, so if you find any mistakes, let me know!

Bitty circles the pitch from above the other players, keeping a sharp eye out for the snitch. He forces himself to stay focused, to not be distracted by Jack, who is also searching for the snitch. He roams the whole pitch, looking for any flash of gold he can find. This is his least favorite part of the game, the waiting. Bitty sees a flutter out of the corner of his eye and dives straight down after it, he is aware that he’s caught Jack’s attention and he’s right on Bitty’s heels. Bitty is reaching out for the snitch, just within his reach, when everything goes black.  
…  
Jack is hyper-focused, he flits his eyes from side to side, trying to spot the snitch. He will win this game and get his team to the cup. It’s his seventh year and his last chance as captain of the Gryffindor quidditch team to get the cup, and he’s going to do it if it kills him. He circles the pitch slowly, making sure he stays aware of Hufflepuff’s seeker, Eric Bittle. Even if Bittle sees the snitch first, Jack’s going to steal it right out from under his cute nose. When he sees Bittle dive he races after him, knowing that he’s caught sight of the snitch. He’s only a few feet behind Bittle when he sees the bludger come out of nowhere and head straight for him. Jack tries to scream, but Bittle is hit and falling before Jack can do anything.  
He’s on autopilot as he dives after Bittle’s falling body. Catching him just before he hits the grassy ground. Jack dismounts from his broom and tucks his arms under Bittle’s neck and knees. Madame Pomfrey is rushing towards him in the center of the pitch, fussing over them. He barely hears anything she says, but follows her, carrying Bittle off of the field and towards the hospital wing. Jack’s ears are ringing and his head is fuzzy. He gingerly lays Bittle down on the bed Pomfrey points to before he’s ushered out of the hospital wing.  
He doesn’t bother going back to the quidditch pitch. He heads straight to Gryffindor tower and up to his dormitory, plopping himself face down on the bed. The shock finally wears off until he’s shaking, tears running down his face and he’s not even sure why. Bittle isn’t his teammate, and besides, he’s going to be fine. Madame Pomfrey will fix him up in no time, there’s no reason for Jack to be panicking over this. He can’t stop crying though, he buries himself under his covers and waits out the sobs and the shaking until he’s exhausted. His bones aching from landing so roughly as he caught Bittle.  
…  
When Eric finally wakes up, all he can think about is how badly his head hurts. He has a pounding headache and he can barely open his eyes because of how much gunk is in them. When he tries to sit up, a wave of nausea hits him, and forces him to lay back down against the mountain of pillows propping him up. It doesn’t take long for Madame Pomfrey to come by and check on him.  
“Oh good, you’re finally awake dear, took quite the hit out there. I’ll never understand why they let young people play such a dangerous game.” She tuts discontentedly as she waves her wand to check his vitals. She hands him several foul-smelling potions which he downs as quickly as he can, grimacing the entire time. “Well dear, we should be able to get you out of here within the next week or so, just to be safe.” Bitty sighs dramatically, what is he going to do in the hospital wing for a week?  
…  
Jack does his best to ignore the pang in his chest every time he enters the Great Hall and doesn’t see Bitty. He knows that he shouldn’t be blaming himself for what happened, but somehow, he does. He should’ve had Bitty’s back, should have seen the bludger earlier and warned the small seeker. They may not be on the same team, but Bitty is almost a friend, at the very least he’s one of the kindest people Jack has ever met.  
Jack doesn’t realize that he’s been spacing out until someone jumps on top of him, crushing his chest into the Gryffindor table. Jack cranes his neck and sees that it’s Shitty. Shitty grins widely at him and plops down on the bench next to him. They talk about quidditch and strategy for the cup final, which Gryffindor has now advanced to, simply because of the incident in the game against Hufflepuff. It makes something in Jack’s chest ache, knowing he hasn’t truly earned the spot in the final. That he’s getting there because someone else had to get hurt.  
His thoughts are fuzzy and he can barely concentrate on the conversation Shitty is single-handedly carrying on. Jack honestly doesn’t think he’s missing much, Shitty is always talking about muggle-born rights and the ridiculousness of pureblood ideals. It's easy to tune him out, to focus on the pounding in his chest and the panic rising in his throat, trying desperately to shove it back down.  
Eventually it gets to be too much, he excuses himself frantically and does his best to appear calm while also exiting the Great Hall as fast as he can manage. He makes his way into an empty classroom and sits atop one of the table, drawing his knees to his chest and lowering his head, taking deep breaths in and out until he can feel his heartbeat slowing, and everything starts to come back into focus. He stays there for a long time, knowing that he's missing Charms, but he doesn’t think Professor Flitwick will mind, he is, after all, one of the best students in the class. Jack finally gathers the strength to stand and makes his way to Gryffindor tower to collect his bag and go to his next class.

...   
Bitty was becoming restless, he’d been in the Hospital wing for almost a week and he felt fine, honestly, but Madame Pomfrey still refused to release him early. Visitors came and went. Chowder spent a great deal of time with him whenever he didn’t have class or was spending time with Farmer, and Lardo and Shitty had dropped by a few times to check on him.   
He just wanted to be out of this bed and back on his feet again. He wanted to get back on his broom and go to classes, anything to not be stuck in this bed, bored out of his mind. Mostly, he wanted to thank Jack for saving him. When Shitty had come to visit the day Bitty woke up, he had told Bitty in loud details about how Jack had been reaching out to catch the snitch when Bitty had fallen and how Jack had abandoned it to dive after his falling form, catching him before he could hit the ground.   
Try as he might, Bitty couldn’t help but swoon at the story. It certainly didn’t help his enormous crush to know that Jack Zimmermann had not only abandoned a game of quidditch, which was unheard of, but had abandoned it to save him. Bitty couldn’t be more grateful to the stoic Gryffindor.   
...  
Jack was currently attempting to gather the courage to visit Eric in the Hospital wing. It was times like these where he wondered if the sorting hat had gotten it all wrong, that maybe he didn’t belong in Gryffindor after all. He stood outside the door to the Hospital wing for what felt like an eternity, unable to muster the guts to go in. The thought of seeing Bitty in a infirmary bed made his stomach protest. Jack knew it wasn’t his fault that Eric had gotten hit, but that didn’t stop his anxiety from rearing it’s ugly head.   
What if when he went in there, Eric took one look at him and told him to leave. He knew that Eric was too kind to do something like that, but there was always the chance. It was foolish to think that Eric liked him in any other way than the way he liked every other person on the planet. He was the friendliest person Jack had ever met and he wasn’t sure if he had ever seen Eric be hostile towards anyone. So what was he waiting for? It was as easy as walking in and saying hello, he didn’t even have to stay for any length of time. He could wish Bitty well and then leave and they’d most likely never talk about it ever again. It wasn’t like they talked a lot in the first place.   
Jack took a deep breath and opened the door gently, sneaking into the Hospital wing, careful not to make too much noise. He spotted Eric’s blonde hair almost immediately, peaking out from underneath a thick wool blanket. Jack walked over slowly, when he got to the side of the bed, he could hear Eric’s soft breaths. He was asleep. Jack simultaneously felt relief and disappointment. He had come to talk to Eric, but at the same time, being here while he was asleep almost seemed better. He can sit by Eric’s side and not have to endure the awkward moments when he runs out of things to say or he tries to make a joke that no one else finds funny.   
So Jack sits in the chair by Eric’s bed silently. He feels calmer than he has since Eric’s accident, almost like he has finally let out a huge breath that he’s been holding. The silence is nice, only cut by the soft noise of Eric’s soft breathing. It’s peaceful here, nat at all like the chaotic noise and movement of Gryffindor tower of the packed hum of the Great Hall. Jack can relax here, and he lets himself. He doesn’t even notice when he’s beginning to fall asleep.


End file.
